Missouri State senior Dylan Cole added another national honor to his resume Monday, as the linebacker was named a first-team 2016 AFCA Football Championship Subdivision Coaches’ All-American.
Cole was one of six Missouri Valley Football Conference standouts selected for the AFCA’s top team, joining North Dakota State’s Zack Johnson and Tre Dempsey, UNI’s Karter Schult, South Dakota State’s Dallas Goedert and South Dakota’s Miles Bergner as first-team honorees.
Cole, who was tabbed for The Associated Press FCS All-America first team last Thursday, completed his four-year Missouri State career as the nation’s leading tackler with an average of 12.9 stops per game during the regular season. The Rogersville, Mo., product recorded at least 13 tackles in nine different games, including 19 in the Bears’ win over Southern Illinois. The All-MVFC first-team selection racked up 85 solo tackles, eight tackles for loss, two interceptions, four pass breakups and three forced fumbles.
Earlier this month, Cole was named one of three finalists for STATS FCS Buck Buchanan Award honoring the top defensive player in the nation. He capped his career with 457 tackles in 46 games, finishing third on the Bears’ career tackles chart and ninth all-time in Valley history.
The AFCA has selected an All-America team since 1945 and currently selects teams in all five of its divisions. Beginning this year, the AFCA has started selecting a first and second team. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best — the coaches themselves.
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2016 AFCA FCS COACHES’ ALL-AMERICA TEAMSFIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School | Hometown (High School)
WR **Cooper Kupp 6-2 215 RSr. Eastern Washington | Yakima, Wash. (Davis)
WR Brian Brown 6-2 205 Sr. Richmond | Richmond, Va. (Hermitage)
TE Dallas Goedert 6-4 250 Jr. South Dakota State | Britton, S.D. (Britton-Hecla)
OL Erik Austell 6-4 285 RSr. Charleston Southern | Warner Robins, Ga. (Central Fellowship Christian)
OL Julie’n Davenport 6-7 315 Sr. Bucknell | Paulsboro, N.J. (Paulsboro)
OL Zack Johnson 6-4 331 Sr. North Dakota State | Apple Valley, Minn. (Eastview)
OL Mitchell Kirsch 6-6 300 RSr. James Madison | Washington, D.C. (St. John’s College)
OL Isaiah Pinson 6-3 267 Jr. The Citadel | Wellford, S.C. (Byrnes)
QB Jeremiah Briscoe 6-3 220 Jr. K.C. Keeler | Houston, Texas (Stratford)
RB Khalid Abdullah 5-10 220 Sr. James Madison | Newport News, Va. (Heritage)
RB Chase Edmonds 5-9 205 Jr. Fordham | Harrisburg, Pa. (Central Dauphin East)
DEFENSE
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School | Hometown (High School)
DL *Keionta Davis 6-4 270 Sr. Tennessee-Chattanooga | Chattanooga, Tenn. (Red Bank)
DL Samson Ebukam 6-3 240 Sr. Eastern Washington | Portland, Ore. (David Douglas)
DL Tanoh Kpassagnon 6-7 290 Sr. Villanova | Ambler, Pa. (Wissahickon)
DL Karter Schult 6-4 269 Sr. Northern Iowa | Tripoli, Iowa (Tripoli)
LB Dylan Cole 6-1 240 Sr. Missouri State | Rogersville, Mo. (Logan-Rogersville)
LB Christian Kuntz 6-2 228 RSr. Duquesne | Pittsburgh, Pa. (Chartiers Valley)
LB Darius Leonard 6-3 220 RJr. South Carolina State | Lake View, S.C. (Lake View)
DB *Donald Payne 6-0 223 Sr. Stetson | Fayetteville, Ga. (Landmark Christian)
DB Tre Dempsey 5-10 179 Jr. North Dakota State | Lakeland, Fla. (Lakeland)
DB Casey DeAndrade 5-11 216 Sr. New Hampshire | East Bridgewater, Mass. (East Bridgewater)
DB Brendan Langley 6-2 193 Sr. Lamar | Marietta, Ga. (Kell)
SPECIALISTS
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School | Hometown (High School)
P Miles Bergner 6-0 225 Sr. South Dakota | Longmont, Colo. (Longmont)
PK Eric Medina 5-11 195 Sr. Texas Southern | LaPorte, Texas (LaPorte)
AP Detrez Newsome 5-10 210 Jr. Western Carolina | Raeford, N.C. (Hoke County)
SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School | Hometown (High School)
WR Karel Hamilton 6-1 202 Sr. Samford | Valrico, Fla. (Strawberry Crest)
WR Chad Williams 6-2 193 Sr. Grambling State | Baton Rouge, La. (Madison Prep)
TE Eric Saubert 6-5 251 RSr. Drake | Hoffman Estates, Ill. (Hoffman Estates)
OL *Casey Dunn 6-3 290 Sr. Jacksonville State | Trussville, Ala. (Hewitt-Trussville)
OL *Corey Levin 6-5 305 Sr. Tennessee-Chattanooga | Dacula, Ga. (Dacula)
OL Michael Coe 6-3 300 Sr. North Dakota | Carlsbad, Calif. (Carlsbad)
OL Daniel Cooney 6-8 315 RSo. San Diego | Western Springs, Ill. (Fenwick)
OL Carl Jones 6-2 285 RSr. North Carolina Central | Nashville, Tenn. (Pearl-Cohn)
QB Gage Gubrud 6-2 195 RSo. Eastern Washington | McMinnville, Ore. (McMinnville)
RB Tarik Cohen 5-6 179 Sr. North Carolina A&T | Bunn, N.C. (Bunn)
RB Lenard Tillery 5-10 200 RSr. Southern | Baton Rouge, La. (McKinley)
DEFENSE
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School | Hometown (High School)
DL Pat Afriyie 6-2 240 Jr. Colgate | Sandy Hook, Conn. (Loomis Chaffee)
DL P.J. Hall 6-1 280 Jr. Sam Houston State | Seguin, Texas (Seguin)
DL Darius Jackson 6-3 237 RJr. Jacksonville State | Bessemer, Ala. (McAdory)
DL Javancy Jones 6-2 245 Sr. Jackson State | Macon, Miss. (Noxubee County)
LB Kourtney Berry 6-0 210 RSr. Alabama State | Merrillville, Ind. (Merrillville)
LB Chad Geter 6-2 253 RSr. Gardner-Webb | Irmo, S.C. (Dutch Fork)
LB Folarin Orimolade 6-0 235 Sr. Dartmouth | Burtonsville, Md. (Blake)
DB Mike Basile 6-1 200 Jr. Monmouth (N.J.) | Brick, N.J. (Memorial)
DB Deion Harris 6-3 180 Jr. North Dakota | Hibbing, Minn. (Hibbing)
DB Phillip Henry 6-2 225 RSr. South Carolina State | Manning, S.C. (Manning)
DB Cole Reyes 6-2 215 Jr. North Dakota | Schaumburg, Ill. (Schaumburg)
SPECIALISTS
Pos Name Ht. Wt. Cl. School | Hometown (High School)
P Jake Ryder 6-0 182 Sr. Towson | Olney, Md. (Sherwood)
PK Griffin Trau 5-8 180 RSo. Richmond | Culver, Ind. (Western Reserve Academy)
AP *Willie Quinn 5-5 150 Sr. Southern | Miami, Fla. (Jackson)
**-2013-2014-2015 All-American *-2015 All-American
Team Background: The five teams now chosen for each AFCA division evolved from a single 11-player squad in 1945. From 1945 until 1967, only one team was chosen. From 1967 through 1971, two teams, University Division and College Division, were selected. In 1972, the College Division was split into College I and College II. In 1979, the University Division was split into two teams — Division I-A and Division I-AA. In 1996, the College I and College II teams were renamed Division II and Division III, respectively. In 2006, the Division I-A and Division I-AA teams were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), respectively. In 2006, the AFCA started selecting an NAIA-only team.
From 1965-81, a 22-player (11 offensive, 11 defensive) team was chosen. In 1982, a punter and placekicker were added to the team. A return specialist was added in 1997, giving us the current 25-player team. The return specialist position was replaced by an all-purpose player in 2006.
Top Teams: Delaware has the most AFCA All-America selections of any current FCS school with 29 selections by 26 players. The Blue Hens are followed by Montana (28/27), Eastern Kentucky (26/24), Eastern Washington (26/22), North Dakota State (23/21), Northern Iowa (22/19), Grambling State (20/19), New Hampshire (20/17), Lehigh (19/19), Furman (19/18), South Carolina State (19/18), North Dakota (19/17), Portland State (18/17), Weber State (18/17), Eastern Illinois (18/16), Youngstown State (18/16), Northern Colorado (17/14), Montana State (16/16), Western Illinois (16/15), Cal Poly (16/14), James Madison (15/15), Abilene Christian (15/14), Stephen F. Austin (15/14), Tennessee State (15/14) and South Dakota State (15/12).
2016 Conference-by-Conference Breakdown: Colonial – 7; Big Sky – 6; Missouri Valley – 6; Southwestern Athletic – 6; Southern – 5; Mid-Eastern Athletic – 4; Big South – 3; Patriot – 3; Pioneer – 3; Southland – 3; Ohio Valley – 2; Ivy – 1; Northeast – 1.
